Last updated 11:36, Thursday, 10 April 2008

Gretna 0 St Mirren 0: THE match between Gretna and St Mirren promised little on paper, but a few hardy souls turned out to watch the two worst sides in the SPL battle it out at Fir Park.

Gretna director of football Mick Wadsworth and coach Andy Smith at Fir Park

Gretna went into the game without a recognised striker while St Mirren have only scored 22 goals this season so it was never likely to be a high-scoring encounter and it lived up to its billing.

Saints boss Gus MacPherson will still be furious that his side did not do better against a depleted Gretna side, who suffered a blow when captain Paul Murray broke a rib.

The Paisley side had only won once in their last ten SPL outings but they looked set to buck that trend early on as they maintained a high level of pressure on the Gretna goal.

Greg Fleming pulled off an excellent save from Mark Corcoran early on as he made a well-timed run into the box before shooting from six yards out.

Seconds later he did well to stop Ryan McCay's 25-yard effort. The loose ball fell to Jim Hamilton whose follow-up effort was deflected behind for a corner by Gavin Skelton.

The visitors were creating all of the chances but could not find the back of the net. Corcoran should have done better with his free-kick which was easily gathered by Fleming while Hamilton saw another effort deflected behind for a corner.

Gretna's best chance came midway through the first half when Abdul Osman rose well to get his head on John Paul Kissock's cross into the box, but his header from the penalty spot went wide.

As the first half drew on the match stagnated and there were few chances for either side. Kissock fired well over the bar, wasting a rare chance as he chose to shoot from 35 yards rather than pass to a team-mate.

St Mirren then had a penalty claim turned down when Andy Dorman and Craig Barr tussled on the edge of the area.

The start of the second half provided little in the way of entertainment or scoring opportunities as the ball got bogged down in midfield.

The introduction of youngster Stephen McGinn sparked some interest for the visitors as he smashed a spectacular volley off the woodwork.

At the other end Kyle Naughton was less than a yard off target for Gretna from over 20 yards out.

Stewart Kean did get the ball in the back of the net in stoppage time but had already been flagged for offside.

MATCH FACTS

Gretna: Fleming, Barr, Griffiths, Meynell, Skelton, McGill, Osman, Murray (Deverdics ,46 ), Wilkinson (Hogg ,73 ), Kissock (Taylor ,81), Naughton

St Mirren: Howard, McCay, Haining, Potter, Barron, Brittain (Molloy ,83), Dorman, Brady (Kean ,58 ), Corcoran (McGinn ,58 ), Hamilton, Dargo

Bookings: Meynell (Gretna) Dargo, Hamilton (St Mirren)

Attendance: 1,031

Referee: Stephen Finnie(Scotland)